Background: About one-third of all pregnancies that
occur in low income countries are unintended. An estimated 1.2 million unwanted
pregnancies occur in Uganda annually. The majority of the unwanted pregnancies
end in unsafe abortion which is one of the five direct causes of maternal
mortality. Abortion related complications are responsible for 26% of all
maternal deaths in Uganda. Abortion complications can be avoided if women
appropriately use contraception to avoid unwanted pregnancy. However, in Uganda
the contraceptive prevalence is low at 30% and less than 4% of women rely on
long acting reversible contraceptives. Aim: We aimed to explore post-abortion women’s
perceptions of using of long acting reversible contraception (LARC). Methods: A
qualitative research design was used for data collection and analysis. Thirty
in-depth interviews with post abortion women in Mulago hospital were carried
out using an interview guide. Interviews were transcribed and coded using nodes
and subsequently through query, we derived themes. Results: Emergent themes
regarding women perceptions of using LARC methods were myths and
misinformation, fear of side effects, women’s lived experiences, relatives’
influence, health providers’ perceptions, lack of knowledge and women desire
for spacing children for a long time. Conclusion and recommendations: The
majority of women were skeptical about using LARC. There is a need to educate
women to dispel myths, misinformation and quality counseling to address the
benefits and side effects of LARC. There is also a need to revamp the knowledge
and skills of the healthcare providers regarding LARC methods.
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